Congressional negotiators reached an agreement on a $612 billion Fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill, which once again blocks the Air Force’s effort to divest the A-10 fleet, authorizes “urgently needed acquisition reforms,” and begins to reform the military compensation and benefits system, according to the summary of the conference report. The legislation authorizes $515 billion in defense spending in addition to $89.2 billion for overseas contingency operations funds. President Obama has threatened to veto the bill over $38 billion in OCO funds, which will be used as a Budget Control Act overflow valve, but House Armed Services Committee Chairman Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) said in a Sept. 29 statement he “is hopeful that the President will remove his veto threat, putting politics aside and putting the country’s security first.” Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said the acquisition reforms included in the legislation are “some of the most significant … in a generation,” noting the money saved by reducing headquarters and administrative overhead will be reinvested to provide “critical military capabilities for our warfighters, [meet] unfunded priorities of our service chiefs and combatant commanders, and [support] critical national security priorities.” (McCain statement.)
When acting Air Force Secretary Gary A. Ashworth rescinded service-wide “Family Days” last week citing the need to build readiness, he left it up to commanders, directors, and supervisors to decide if they would still permit extra days off. Here’s how Air Force major commands are taking that guidance.